Identification of a regulatory peptide distinct from normal granulocyte-derived hemoregulatory peptide produced by human promyelocytic HL-60 leukemia cells after differentiation induction with retinoic acid.

It has been found that leukemia cells can be induced by various agents [e.g., by retinoic acid (RA)] to mature to a nonproliferative end stage. It has also been found that normal mature granulocytes produce a chalone-like "hemoregulatory peptide (HP)" which seems to be involved in the inhibitory proliferation control of myelopoietic cells. In view of the intended use of maturation induction treatment as an alternative to current antileukemic therapy it appeared to be of interest to know if granulocytes, obtained by RA treatment of the promyelocytic leukemia cell line HL-60, would produce normal HP or if their transformed phenotype would cause production of deviant regulatory peptide(s). It was found that conditioned media from RA-treated HL-60 cells inhibited myeloid proliferation but strongly stimulated the growth of erythroid and lymphoid cells. A low molecular weight thiol-containing peptide was isolated which inhibited colony formation by normal granulocyte-macrophage committed stem cells but unlike HP had no effect on (untreated) HL-60 cells themselves. It was also shown that the HL-60 RA peptide is chemically different from HP in terms of molecular size, electrophoretic mobility, composition, and NH2-terminal sequence, which was determined as glutamine-aspartic acid-proline. It is concluded that differentiated HL-60 cells produce hemoregulatory factor(s) with properties different from those of normal HP. The implication of a possible abnormal regulatory behavior of induced leukemic populations is discussed with respect to leukemia therapy by differentiation induction.

Stem cell stimulation in vitro by the dekapeptide (pEEDCK)2: a single-factor alternative for multifactor cocktails.

Insertion of foreign genes into cellular DNA requires (at least one round of) DNA replication. Since hemopoietic stem cells do not divide rapidly, numerous semi-empirically designed multifactor cocktails have been used to stimulate them. In an attempt to find an alternative to this approach we have investigated the effects of the stem cell stimulatory peptide (pGlu-Glu-Asp-Glys-Lys)2, (pEEDCK)2, on progenitor output in murine long-term bone marrow cultures (LTBMC). (pEEDCK)2 may act by inducing growth factor production in stromal cells. Addition of (pEEDCK)2 to LTBMCs resulted in a three-fold increase in CFU-GM production. For showing an effect of (pEEDCK)2 on primitive hemopoietic cells (long-term-culture initiating cells, (LTC-IC)) LTBMCs were depleted of rapidly dividing progenitors by 5-Fluoro-Uracil (5-FU). LTC-IC survive and repopulate the culture with new CFU-GM. (pEEDCK)2 greatly enhanced this process (eight-fold in the second week after 5-FU). Enhanced progenitor production was observed for several weeks even after discontinuation of (pEEDCK)2 additions to the cultures (100-fold, five weeks after 5-FU, three weeks after end of peptide additions). This increase in progenitor production resulted in increased numbers of total nucleated cells. Our results suggest that (pEEDCK)2 may be a useful alternative for multifactor cocktails when proliferation of primitive stem-cell-like cells is required, as in gene therapy and transplantation. Our experiments also indicate that the redox equilibrium between (stem cell inhibitory) monomeric pEEDCK and (stem cell stimulatory) dimeric (pEEDCK)2, which are both endogenous constituents of LTBMCs may play a role in physiological stem cell regulation.

In vivo and in vitro effects of cytokines and the hemoregulatory peptide dimer (pEEDCK)2 (pyroGlu-Glu-Asp-Cys-Lys)2 on G alpha16-positive hematopoiesis.

G proteins play an important role in signal transduction from cytokine receptors to intracellular effectors via different pathways, eg involving tyrosine kinases. In our previous studies, we demonstrated that mRNA expression of the hematopoiesis-specific G protein alpha-subunit G alpha16 is a sensitive marker indicating the appearance of early myeloid and lymphoid progenitors. This study was designed to investigate cytokine effects on hematopoiesis in vivo and in vitro as reflected by G alpha16 expression and sensitivity to the hemoregulatory peptide (pEEDCK)2 which harbors a structural homology to the effector domain of G alpha16. Investigations on blood samples from lymphoma patients undergoing salvage therapy with different cytokine support showed that monitoring of the expression of G alpha16 mRNA which appears to play a role in cytokine signalling via tyrosine kinases was a valuable complementation to CD34 screening for analyzing hematopoietic recovery after chemotherapy. We demonstrated that in contrast to CD34 which is only expressed in quiescent cells, G alpha16 transcription occurs independently of cell cycle state. In vitro, we could show that G alpha16 was also a valuable marker for confirming the immature state of ex vivo expanded blood stem cells from patients. A further part of the study was focused on the response of G alpha16 and CD34 expressing cells to the granulocyte-derived hemoregulatory peptide (pyroGlu-Glu-Asp-Cys-Lys)2 = (pEEDCK)2 which harbors a G alpha16-homologous sequence motif. Results obtained from in vitro assays which involved estimation of colony outgrowth from CD34-positive cells showed that the effect of (pEEDCK)2 on CD34 cells enhanced the effect of IL-3 or SCF. These data indicate that G alpha16 may co-operate with (pEEDCK)2 in triggering the cytokine response of immature hematopoietic cells.

Activated granulocytes oxidize the endogenous stem cell inhibitory peptide pGlu-Glu-Asp-Cys-Lys (pEEDCK) to the stimulatory dimer: a redox-mediated mechanism for demand-induced hematopoietic regulation.

We have previously shown that the pentapeptide pGlu-Glu-Asp-Cys-Lys (pEEDCK), which is associated with mature leukocytes, maintains pluripotent hematopoietic stem cells (colony-forming units-spleen [CFU-S]) in a quiescent state under physiological conditions. It is also known that its oxidation product, the disulfide-bonded homodimer (pEEDCK)2, is a growth factor for CFU-S in vivo. In this paper we report on the combined actions of the monomer and dimer in inducing rapid changes in stem cell proliferation in vivo. A single injection of 20 microg/kg synthetic dimer into mice stimulated CFU-S proliferation (60% in S-phase after 9-11 hours) and population expansion. Stimulated CFU-S traversed one cell cycle, with an estimated S-phase time of 5.5 hours, and then become quiescent again. Proliferation of CFU-S in response to dimer showed no sensitivity to the inhibitory effects of monomeric pEEDCK, whereas CFU-S proliferation did display sensitivity to inhibition after injection of cytosine arabinoside or doxorubicin. Products of mature granulocytes undergoing an oxidative burst reaction rapidly oxidized monomeric pEEDCK to the dimer. The suppressive effect of endogenous pEEDCK monomer on stem cell proliferation was thus converted within minutes to a stimulatory signal (dimer). Because many in vivo situations (e.g., infection) requiring increased hematopoiesis involve granulocyte and macrophage activation, the formation of dimer from endogenous pEEDCK monomer may provide an almost instantaneous demand-induced emergency signal for increasing stem cell proliferation and blood cell production.

The use of haemoregulatory peptides (pEEDCK monomer and dimer) for reduction of cytostatic drug induced haemopoietic damage.

We have previously shown that the stem cell inhibitory peptide pGlu-Glu-Asp-Cys-Lys (pEEDCK monomer) leads to a good tolerance of otherwise lethal multiple ara-C doses and an increased survival of ara-C + peptide treated mice. This effect was due to the prevention of drug-induced CFU-S proliferation, thus keeping stem cells in a quiescent state insensitive to ara-C. Here we show that the pEEDCK monomer also inhibits stem cell proliferation after clinically relevant (non-lethal) ara-C doses. This leads to a sustained (100%) stem cell number in the femoral bone marrow, which was greatly reduced without protective peptide treatment (27%). We have measured the kinetics of influx of CFU-S into the empty S-phase (after two consecutive ara-C injections). This influx reached peak levels of 60-70%; pEEDCK treatment reduced it to 25-30%. Due to its cysteine content the pEEDCK monomer is easily oxidized and forms a symmetric disulfide-bonded dimer (pEEDCK)2. This dimer is a potent stimulator of haemopoiesis. Various modes of protective peptide treatment (monomer and dimer) were investigated in conjunction with a standardized protocol of 2 x 300 mg/kg ara-C given 12 h apart. (a) ara-monomer-ara: The administration of pEEDCK-monomer 2 h before the second ara-C injection retarded the onset of neutropenia, shortened its duration and improved recovery after depression. The degree of short-term neutropenia was not changed. (b) ara-ara-HN2-dimer: Post chemotherapy infusion of the stimulatory (pEEDCK)2 dimer led to considerable increases of progenitor levels (6.8 CFU-GM/1000 bone marrow cells vs. 1.2 CFU-GM/1000 in normal mice) 2 days after cytostatic treatment when CFU-GM were not detectable in unprotected mice. This increase was followed by greatly elevated granulocyte counts (8000 PMN/mm3 vs. 750 PMN/mm3 in normal mice). In the dimer-treated mice, up to 75% of the peripheral leukocytes were mature PMN (normal, 10%). (c) ara-monomer-ara-dimer: ara-C and monomer treatment as above (a) followed by dimer infusion led to complete protection of haemopoiesis. Mice treated with the protective pEEDCK monomer plus stimulatory dimer did not develop the leukocyte depression seen in unprotected animals. Our results show that the haemoregulatory peptide monomer and dimer can be used to improve the haematological status of mice treated with clinically relevant doses of cytostatic drugs (anti-metabolite and alkylating, alone and in combination). The pEEDCK monomer and dimer are equally active also on human haemopoietic cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Separation, identification and mechanism of action of the granulocytic chalone.

The preparation of highly purified granulocytic chalone from bone marrow conditioned medium is described. A sequence of gel-chromatographic steps on Sephadex G-25, G-15 and Biogel P-6 is applied. The end product has a sigmoid dose-response-curve with a plateau at 40-50% inhibition of thymidine incorporation. The inhibition is only observed with bone marrow cells as target cells whereas lymphoid cells are not affected. When bone marrow cells are treated for 1 min with 0.005% trypsin and subsequently used for assaying chalone activity in the presence of cycloheximide, no inhibition is found. These results may indicate that chalone specific receptor sites (of protein nature) are present on the surface of the target cells, which are destroyed by the trypsin treatment. Granulocytic chalone is soluble in aqueous solvents and in polar organic solvent mixtures. Its activity is destroyed by trypsin but only after prolonged treatment. The elution behaviour of chalone is discussed in detail. Chromatography on Sephadex G-75 and Ultrafiltration point to a molecular weight of several thousands, whereas chromatography on G-25 or G-15 or on Biogel P-6 would indicate a rather low molecular weight.

The solubility properties of granulopoiesis inhibiting factor.

The solubility of granulopoiesis inhibiting factor (GIF) in various aqueous and organic solvents was investigated. GIF is soluble in water, 10% acetic acid, and 10% pyridine. It is not extractable by 1-butanol at low and high pH. A high solubility was found in polar organic solvents (ethanol-acetone 9:1, and chloroform-methanol 1:1), whereas GIF seems to be insoluble in pure chloroform.

Mechanism of action of granulopoiesis inhibiting factor (chalone). I. Evidence for a receptor protein on bone marrow cells.

Rat bone marrow cells respond to granulopoiesis inhibiting factor by a reduced incorporation of tritiated thymidine. Cells treated with low concentrations of trypsin lose their ability to respond to the factor if protein synthesis is partially inhibited by low doses of cycloheximide. Responsiveness is retained if protein synthesis is permitted after enzyme treatment. The data suggest that a protein receptor on the external surface of the target cells is required for the action of granulopoiesis inhibiting factor on bone marrow cells.

Pre-CFU-S quiescence and stem cell exhaustion after cytostatic drug treatment: protective effects of the inhibitory peptide pGlu-Glu-Asp-Cys-Lys (pEEDCK).

Pre--CFU-S are characterized by their ability to generate spleen colony-forming cells (CFU-S) and by their ability to repopulate the hematopoietic system after damage. We have investigated their response to three consecutive injections of cytosine arabinoside (ara-C), given at t = 0, 12, and 20 hours. Nine hours after treatment, the number of CFU-S and pre--CFU-S was reduced to 10% or 30%, respectively. No pre--CFU-S were in S-phase at this time, indicating that the pre--CFU-S losses were not caused by direct drug killing. Up to 1 year after treatment, pre--CFU-S were still depleted to 10% of normal, indicating that their proliferative quiescence was permanent. We have previously shown that inhibition of CFU-S recruitment with pGlu-Glu-Asp-Cys-Lys (pEEDCK) makes them ara-C resistant and prevents their decimation. We now found that this also prevented the excessive drainage of the pre--CFU-S pool, suggesting that pre--CFU-S allocation into active hematopoiesis is triggered by the CFU-S deficit. pEEDCK may thus be applicable as a protector of the hematopoietic repopulation potential against cytostatic drug-induced aplasia. Postchemotherapeutic stimulator treatment with (pEEDCK)2-dimer did not ameliorate pre--CFU-S losses. Long-term culture-initiating cells (LTC-ICs) showed a similar pattern of irreversible reduction after cytostatic drug treatment, which could be prevented by pEEDCK. Our results suggest, that certain subclasses of hematopoietic stem cells (pre--CFU-S) are permanently quiescent and exhaustible and that the capacity for self-renewal is not a necessary property of all stem cell-like cells.

The granulocytic chalone-a specific inhibor of granulopoiesis: molecular weight and chemical nature.

Chalones specifically inhibit cell rpoliferation not only in their respective normal cell system, but also in the malignant descendants of these cells. Consequently, a number of hypotheses have been put forward as to how chalones could be used in cancer treatment or related areas. As chalones are not cytotoxic themselves, but merely inhibit proliferation, the regression of tumors which have been observed in some cases must have been caused by other mechanisms, not directly related to the increased chalone level. Some of the potential advantages and drawbacks of this direct approach will be discussed. Some models in which chalones serve as adjuncts to other forms of therapy will be discussed. The experimental testing of these procedures and hypothesis is hampered severly by the unavailability of satisfactory chalone preparations. A possible approach to overcome this by using synthetic granulocytic (and possibly other) chalone(s) is discussed in detail.

Effect of the hemoregulatory peptide (pEEDCK)2 (pyroGlu-Glu-Asp-Cys-Lys)2 and MIP-1alpha is reduced in bone marrow cultures from patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).

The granulocyte-derived hemoregulatory peptide pyroGlu-Glu-Asp-Cys-Lys = pEEDCK is known to keep hematopoietic cells quiescent. When oxidized to its dimeric form (pEEDCK)2, it activates growth of hematopoietic progenitors in association with stroma-derived cytokines. (pEEDCK)2 has a Cys-Cys motif which is also a typical feature of the macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP-1alpha). The present study was designed to analyze differences between the response of normal and leukemic progenitor cells to (pEEDCK)2 or MIP-1alpha. When long-term bone marrow cultures (LTBMCs) were incubated with (pEEDCK)2 or MIP-1alpha and/or cytokines, the stimulatory effect on colony-forming units-granulocyte/erythroid/macrophage/megakaryocyte of LTBMC from chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients was less than 50% compared to LTBMC from healthy humans. No difference in oncogene expression could be observed in LTBMC from CML patients regarding reduction of Philadelphia chromosome-associated transcription of the BCR-ABL gene. With respect to the expression of growth and differentiation-associated genes (Galpha16, 5-lipoxygenase, phospholipaseA2, c-kit, and CD34), which were analyzed from LTBMC by semiquantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, the same transcription rate was observed in CML patients and healthy donors. However, two isoforms of a key enzyme of oxidative metabolism, carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT1A and CPT1B), showed 50-fold higher expression rates in LTBMC cells of healthy donors compared to CML patients. It is known that a decrease in oxidative metabolism is associated with an increase in redox equivalents in malignancy. This might result in a reduction of disulphide bonds in (pEEDCK)2 or MIP-1alpha, thus inducing a downregulation of these factors in bone marrow from CML patients.

Protection from arabinofuranosylcytosine and n-mustard-induced myelotoxicity using hemoregulatory peptide pGlu-Glu-Asp-Cys-Lys monomer and dimer.

We have previously shown that the synthetic peptide pGlu-Glu-Asp-Cys-Lys (pEEDCK monomer) inhibits the cytostatic drug-induced proliferation of hematopoietic stem cells CFU-S. Keeping CFU-S quiescent by pEEDCK treatment renders them insensitive to cycle-specific cytostatic drugs and leads to reduced toxicity. Here we show that pEEDCK application during repeated (twice) administration of clinically relevant (nonlethal) 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine (Ara-C) doses reduced the percentage of CFU-S in S-phase from 60%-70% to 25%-30% and led to a sustained stem cell number in the bone marrow (BM), whereas unprotected mice had lost about 75% of their CFU-S population. Owing to its cysteine content, the pEEDCK monomer is easily oxidized. The resulting dimer (pEEDCK)2 is a potent stimulator of hematopoiesis. As we show, it can be used for postchemotherapy acceleration of hematologic recovery, similar to the use of recombinant hematopoietic growth factors. A single injection of 30 micrograms/kg pEEDCK monomer to mice 2 hours before the second Ara-C injection retarded onset of neutropenia (by 2 to 3 days) and improved recovery after depression. The quantitative degree of neutropenia was not changed. Postchemotherapy (Ara-C administered twice, followed by N-mustard) infusion of the stimulatory (pEEDCK)2 dimer (1.4 micrograms/kg/d) produced a 4.6-fold increase of progenitor levels (6.7 CFU-GM/1,000 BM cells v 1.45 CFU-GM/1,000 in normal mice) 2 days after the end of the cytostatic treatment when CFU-GM were not detectable in unprotected mice. This increase was followed after several days by strongly elevated granulocyte counts, which remained high for approximately 1 week. Up to 75% of the peripheral leukocytes were mature polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) during this phase. Ara-C (twice) and monomer treatment as above followed by dimer infusion resulted in the complete protection of hematopoiesis. Mice treated with the protective pEEDCK monomer plus stimulatory dimer did not develop the leukocyte depression noted in unprotected animals. The inhibitory monomer appears to keep the stem cell population numerically and qualitatively intact, thus providing optimum target cell conditions for the subsequent stimulator (dimer) treatment. Our results show that the hemoregulatory peptide monomer and dimer can be used for improving the hematologic status of mice treated with clinically relevant doses of cytostatic drugs (antimetabolite and alkylating, alone and in combination). Combining both peptides can prevent occurrence of neutropenia completely. Both peptides can be obtained easily by chemical synthesis and are also active on human cells. They are thus highly promising candidates for application as multilevel hemoprotectors in cancer chemotherapy.

Methods for the preparation of purified granulopoiesis-inhibiting factor (chalone).

This paper describes in some detail methods which may be useful for the preparation of chalone-like granulopoietic inhibitor(s). Details are given for a) preparation of crude starting material from various sources, b) primary extraction and crude fractionation techniques, c) gel chromatography, d) anion exchange chromatography, and e) thiol-binding chromatography. Possibilities for the chromatographic use of marker substances are discussed and methods for obtaining the factor in radioactively labeled form are given. Some of the stability problems encountered during working and storage of granulopoiesis-inhibiting factor (GIF) are discussed. The purpose of this paper is to provide simple chemical techniques for the purification of GIF for investigators with mainly biological interests.

The hemoregulatory peptide pEEDCK may inhibit stem cell proliferation via hydropathic binding to antisense sequence motifs in interleukin-11 and other growth factors.

In undisturbed bone marrow, most hemopoietic stem cells are nonproliferating despite the presence of multiple growth factors. Endogenous inhibitory factors are responsible for maintenance of this quiescence. Previously we sequenced and synthesized the inhibitory pentapeptide pGlu-Glu-Asp-Cys-Lys (pEEDCK), which originally derives from granulocytes, and investigated the role of this peptide in stem cell quiescence. To provide some mechanistic insight, in the present work we studied the structural relationship of this peptide to specific growth-factor-derived sequence motifs. In the murine system in vivo as well as in long-term bone marrow, antiserum to pEEDCK produced a significant stimulation of formation of colony-forming units-granulocyte/macrophage. Binding of peptides to proteins often takes place at hydropathically complementary sites. Therefore, we searched for peptides corresponding to the complementary sequence to pEEDCK. We identified antisense sequences in the genes of various cytokines and cytokine receptors including interleukin-11. The corresponding peptide Val-Leu-Leu-Thre-Arg (VLLTR) and several other peptides hydropathically complementary to pEEDCK were synthesized. We found that pEEDCK binds specifically to these peptides as well as to complete interleukin-11. Dissociation constants were in the 10 microM range. The peptide hydropathically corresponding to pEEDCK (VLLTR) was found to stimulate colony-forming units-granulocyte/macrophage formation. Our data suggest that pEEDCK could exert a coordinating function in the hemopoietic cytokine network by binding to multiple regulatory proteins and modulating their activity.